Our Strange Relationship
by chocolatelove1234
Summary: "Arms or back, Ackerman?" "What are you doing, Corporal?" "What does it look like I'm doing, dumbass? I'm carrying you home. Now get on."


Hello, it's ChocoloateLove~ This is my first SNK fanfic, so please excuse me if it's really bad. If you don't know already, this is a Rikasa (RivaillexMikasa) fanfic and I expect it to be around 10 chapters long, maybe a little longer. Please give this fanfic a try, I know it seems like an Erkasa fic in the beginning, but I promise it's not!

Constructive criticism and encouragements are welcomed, but no flaming! If you don't like it, don't read it. It's that simple.

But if you did like it, please leave a review They motivate me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.

CHAPTER 1

"Are you sure about this, Mikasa?"

Eren Jaeger stared at his adoptive sister with an intense gaze, his eyebrows narrowed.

"Yes, Eren." Mikasa replied without hesitation.

"We can always go talk to Commander Irvin to change his mind." Eren pressed further.

"No," His sister's voice was firm. "This is my duty."

"Damn it, why do you have to make everything harder for yourself?" Eren stood up abruptly, the chair skidding across the wooden floor with a sharp screech.

"What do you mean?" Mikasa wrapped her nimble fingers around her cup of tea, unfazed by her brother's outburst.

"The war's over," Eren curled his hands into fists. "Don't you want to go explore the world with us? The large bodies of water?"

"I do."

"Then _why,_" Eren hissed, pressing his palms against the wooden table. "aren't you coming to explore with us? Why are you so adamant about staying inside the walls? You're the one that fought for this freedom, and now you're not taking it? This doesn't make any sense, Mikasa!"

"It is not my choice to stay," Mikasa took a small sip of her lukewarm tea. "Commander Irwin asked me to. The rehabilitation and safety of the people is my primary concern, Eren. You of all people should know that."

Silence ensued between the two. Eren had no words to fight his sister's selfless logic and knew she was right. But that didn't stop the bitter guilt that he felt, knowing that she would be stuck inside these goddamn walls and not coming with him.

"I'm sorry," Mikasa reached across the table and touched Eren's hand, sensing his conflict. "Have fun with Armin. And be safe."

"That's my line," Eren snapped in irritation.

"You should go." Mikasa fought the urge to sigh as she stood up. "Your squad will be leaving soon, will it not?"

Eren followed his sister to the door. Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't go around doing stupid stuff." He growled. "This place is still dangerous, you hear?"

Mikasa nodded and stepped away from him. "Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself."

"I'll see you soon then." Eren glanced over his shoulder, his bright green eyes flashing with anxiety.

Mikasa smiled ever so slightly at him before closing the door.

…..

The cities inside the walls were filled with boisterous cries of freedom. Everyone was drunk with the luxury of peace and security. Each and every Titan had been eradicated, although with huge losses that had impacted the population. But the land of their ancestors had been reclaimed and everyone was hell bent on exploring. Most of the soldiers were sent to the unknown with orders to bring back knowledge. However, few individuals, such as Mikasa, were stationed inside the walls to look over the people. She didn't mind. Sure, she wanted to see the large bodies of water called "ocean", but she had business to do inside the walls. And she was content with the life she had now. Thanks to her contributions to the war, she had been given a small cottage in the woods in Wall Maria. Pouches filled with gold coins were sent to her every month, which was more than enough for her simple needs.

Mikasa spent most of her days at one of the overfilled orphanages, lending a hand to the frenzied caretakers. She also handed out extra food rations. Commander Erwin had asked her to stay behind because he saw her fit to protect the people in his stead. While the concern of the titans were gone, it still wasn't completely safe. There were still burglars, murderers, gangs and rapists trying to redeem control. Mikasa readily agreed to stay behind, seeing as how she was one of the few who excelled at hand to hand combat. But that wasn't the only reason. She still had business to finish inside the walls.

"Carla-san."

Mikasa knelt in front of the small tombstone embedded into the rich soil. Her adoptive mother's body had been devoured by a titan, she had seen it with her own two eyes, but they had still made a grave for her in a nearby hill out of respect. Mikasa hadn't visited, not even once, because of Wall Maria's destruction and her hectic schedule. Today she decided to pay her respects, both to her biological parents and Carla Jaeger.

"It's been a while." Mikasa placed a small bouquet of daisies she had picked on the way in front of the tombstone. "I'm sorry I didn't come earlier."

She could feel her adoptive mother's kindred spirit hovering around her. Carla had truly loved Mikasa as much as she loved Eren, which was why she felt so indebted to her.

"Eren went to explore the world." Mikasa whispered, her words carried by the breeze. "You must be proud of him."

"And I'm sorry," Mikasa continued. "You told me to protect him. I tried."

It was true. For all these years she had tried everything in her power to keep her brother safe, fighting bullies, authority and titans alike. Of course Eren had been annoyed, for some unfathomable reason. She really hadn't worried about how angry he got, as long as he was alive and safe. When they were younger _she_ had been the one to chase away the bullies, force him to eat when he didn't want to and knocked sense into him whenever he was being delusional (which was quite often).

But now things had changed. Like most of the boys, Eren had hit a sudden growth spurt. He now towered over her by a few inches and relished it. He was the one who beat the crap out of any male that approached her. He was the one who fussed about her health and made sure that she was eating all of her meals. It was as if he was getting revenge on her for all the years of babying him. Frankly, it got on her nerves. She wasn't used to being treated like the younger sister.

But now wasn't the time to brood. Mikasa hurriedly dusted off some of the grime on the tombstone and promised her adoptive mother to visit before making her way down the hill. It was time to help out at the orphanage, which was quite a distance away.

She felt so incredibly strange as she walked down the busy street. She had slept in a wooden cabin with a dozen other girls who chattered nonstop. She had fought for food in the mess hall and quickly shoveled it into her mouth while listening to Eren and Jean bicker. She had been up on her feet all day, running and flying. She had grown so used to being surrounded by people and noise. But now she walked through the streets alone and spent her days alone. Not that she minded. It was just hard to get used to.

"Mikasa!"

The dark haired girl tilted her head slightly to the source of the sound. Sasha was approaching at an alarming rate, with a pile of frilly paper in her arms and a boiled potato in her mouth (as always).

"Sasha." Mikasa noticed that the frilly papers were actually cards.

Sasha swallowed the potato in one gulp. "I've been looking for you all day!"

"Why aren't you with the others?" Mikasa asked.

"Oh, because I'm getting married!" Sasha beamed at her. "Take a card, will you?"

Mikasa picked a piece of folded paper from the top of the pile and opened it.

"Will you be my maid of honor?" Sasha demanded.

Mikasa blinked.

"Your job will be to carry my veil to the altar and hold my bouquet." Sasha added, reading the clueless look on her friend's face.

"I'm not—"

"Please?" Sasha seemed on the verge of tears. "You're my best friend!"

Mikasa wouldn't have classified them as best friends, but they were indeed close. So rather helplessly, she nodded. Sasha squealed and grinned at her.

"Thank you so much!" Mikasa was grateful for all the invitations Sasha was holding, for the food lover would've pounced on her. "I'll come by to your house later and give you the details!"

….

It had been a long and tiring day. Mikasa had fed countless children, who had followed her as if she were their mother. She had never liked children and found them to be a nuisance, but she was starting to change her mind.

She walked around aimlessly with a bag filled with loaves of bread in her arms. She was a little unsteady on her feet, from fatigue and hunger. She hadn't eaten a thing today. It was hard to remember her meals when Eren wasn't there to nag her to eat. But she had lost her appetite while watching children cry for their parents as she fed them. She decided that she'd fix herself a light snack when she got home.

The streets were empty at this time, as it was already dark. Most families were going to bed. Mikasa peered into alleys, looking for any homeless people. Of course there were. People whose homes had been destroyed by the titans. People who no longer had anyone taking care of them. Mikasa took pity on them and wandered the streets at night, giving them loaves of bread and company. She wasn't a talkative person, so mostly she handed them out and gave them a smile.

Sasha's wedding was still in her mind. Everyone was getting married. They were all at a marriageable age now, most of them 25 years old. Mikasa had already attended nine weddings since the war ended and she found them to be excruciatingly boring. She hated sitting for three hours, listening to an old fart drone about the pleasures of love. Romance was definitely not her interest and she didn't ever plan on getting married. Eren and Armin didn't seem to want to either, so she had naturally assumed that the three of them would be together.

Speaking of Eren, she was doing something that he would have definitely not approved of. She was walking alone at night without a weapon. She could single-handedly take down a crowd of men with her bare hands, but tonight she was physically drained. Also, she was carrying a bag of bread in her hands. If she were to be attacked, she'd have to drop the bag of bread in order to defend herself. It seemed like such a waste of good bread to her. Oh, well. Her best bet was to hope that the criminals were going to lay low tonight.

She peered into another alley and noticed a few haggard looking people slumped against the stone walls. Their gaze turned to her as soon as she took a step towards them. Without a word she pulled a loaf of bread from the paper bag and began handing it out. They smiled at her or murmured a word of thanks. The very last person was an old grandmother who was covered in grimy shawls.

"What's your name, girl?" The old woman's voice was raspy.

Mikasa hesitated and decided not to answer.

"Listen here, girl." The old woman continued. "It's not safe for you to wander alone."

"It's fine—"

"Ho ho, what have we got here?"

Mikasa froze. The voice came from behind her, a few feet away. Three men stood at the mouth of the alley with wicked grins and torn clothing.

"A little girl all alone." The man who stood in front of the other two licked his lips.

Mikasa knew she should drop the bag of bread and beat the crap out of the strange men. But her legs felt limp and her body felt drained from being up all day, doing strenuous activities. She didn't have a knife on her, which she sincerely regretted. The old woman drew an intake of sharp breath and hissed, "Run, girl."

"What a pretty little thing you are." The men advanced. Mikasa could smell the sour stench of alcohol that they emitted. "We'll have lots of fun with you tonight."

They laughed boisterously. Mikasa felt sickened.

"Come here." The man reached for her with outstretched fingers.

She was about to drop the bread and beat the crap out of the pervert when she heard a sickening crunch. She slowly turned her head to look at the man. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground. His comrades were already slumped on the ground. Who had done it?

"Ackerman."

She knew that voice. She knew that voice _very_ well.

"Corporal Rivaille." Mikasa acknowledged, her voice steady although it was barely audible. She turned around fully to face her former commander. She was slightly taken aback by his casual appearance. She had never seen him without his dark green cape or cravat. Instead, he donned a simple loose white shirt and khaki pants. But his bored tone and emotionless face hadn't changed. " knocked three man unconscious."

"I know, Ackerman, I'm not an idiot." Rivaille replied in a languid tone. "But evidently, you are. What the hell are you doing, walking alone at midnight?"

She glanced around her. All the homeless people were now gone, probably because they had seen the corporal single-handedly knocking out three men in a blink of an eye and were frightened. She didn't blame them.

"I was handing out bread." Mikasa looked at the bag of bread in her arms. When he opened his mouth, she interrupted by saying, "Please don't order me to go home. Because I won't."

"No, do your Good Samaritan thing." Rivaille brushed her comment away. "That's none of my concern. I'm wondering why you didn't attack those men. A soldier of your skill could've taken them out with both hands tied behind your back."

She couldn't fabricate an excuse, and she didn't want to tell him that she had been too tired to do it. Even now she felt dizzy on her feet, from the hunger. She casually placed a hand on the stone wall to steady herself and hoped that the man wouldn't notice. Of course he would. He was a man who noticed every little detail.

"You look like hell." He studied her for a moment. The dark bags under her eyes were a stark contrast to her pale skin.

"Thank you, Corporal. That's exactly what I needed to hear." Mikasa couldn't refrain herself from snapping at her superior.

"Go home, Ackerman. Rest." Rivaille didn't seem offended by her curt tone. He blatantly ignored it.

"I have to finish my daily round." Mikasa didn't know why she was being so stubborn. She was clearly in no shape to walk around. She wondered if she was even capable of carrying herself home. Mentally, she calculated how many steps she could take before she collapsed of utter fatigue and hunger.

"When was the last time you ate, Ackerman?"

She was snapped out of her thoughts. "Pardon me?"

Rivaille sighed in irritation. "When was the last time you ate?"

"That would be none of your concern, Corporal." Mikasa pushed her hand off the wall and resumed walking. But before she could pass him, Rivaille grasped her wrist.

"You're trying to kill yourself." He estimated that Mikasa hadn't eaten all day and yet had run around the city, helping others. Foolish girl. He contemplated on shoving a piece of bread into her mouth, but decided that she'd spit the bread out. But he couldn't just let her go, she would collapse after a few steps. Humanity couldn't afford to lose one of its' best soldiers, even if the threat of the titans was gone. Sighing internally, he made his decision. Abruptly, he knocked the bag out of Mikasa's hands.

"What do you think you're do—"

"Arms or back, Ackerman?" He interrupted her.

She stared at him.

He cursed under his breath as he knelt down in front of her.

"What are you doing, Corporal?" Mikasa's voice betrayed shock, which was rare.

"What does it look like I'm doing, dumbass?" Rivaille snapped. "I'm carrying you home. Now get on."

"I can wa—"

"Get on or I'll carry you in my arms."

With a moments' hesitation she climbed onto his back.

"Now wrap your arms around my neck. Don't even try to choke me, Ackerman."

Damn, how had he known? Sighing, she laced her arms around his neck loosely.

"Why are you doing this?" She murmured softly.

"What, do you think I want to do this?" Rivaille stood up and shifted her weight on his back. "I expect a full reimbursement for this, Ackerman."

"Cash?"

"No. I'll think of something for you to do on the way."

And so began the strange relationship between the prodigy and the Lance Corporal.

…..

HOW WAS IT?

Please tell me in your review


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